Dryer delays for Whirlpool buyers

WHIRLPOOL is still forcing delays on customers with potentially dangerous tumble dryers, a year after it announced a safety alert, a consumer group has found.

In a survey last month Which? found that 22% of affected customers first polled in April were still waiting for their machine to be repaired or replaced.

A quarter of affected customers (26%) had been told by Whirlpool they would have to wait longer than six months for their tumble dryer to be repaired, and one in five (22%) were told that the wait would be between three and six months.

Fire chiefs warned in October that owners of faulty Whirlpool dryers must stop using them immediately, after one of the machines was found to be the cause of a huge blaze in an 18-storey tower block in Shepherd’s Bush in London.

London Fire Brigade said they believed a faulty Indesit dryer was the cause of the August 19 blaze, following a “painstaking” investigation.

A reported 5.3 million dryers made by Whirlpool brands Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda between April 2004 and September 2015 are subject to a safety notice about the fire risk, which is caused by excess fluff coming into contact with the heating element.

Which? managing director of home and legal services, Alex Neill, said: “It is absolutely unacceptable that one year on, Whirlpool customers are still seeing slow, poor service.”

Whirlpool said: “The safety of consumers is our number one priority and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that the tumble dryer modification programme is carried out in a safe and timely manner.”